Agreement makes laptops more secure

-- Control Engineering, 2/12/2008

San Jose, CA and Milpitas, CA — Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and Phoenix Technologies Ltd.,  agreed to collaborate on next-generation mobile PC security for notebook computers with Hitachi hard drives. New laptops with Hitachi hard drives and Phoenix FailSafe theft-deterrence service will allow PC owners to track, remotely disable and securely erase the disk drive, improving safety and security of vital data stored on them.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 200 million records containing sensitive personal information, such as credit cards and social security numbers, have been exposed through security breaches in the U.S. over the past three years. Research from the Ponemon Institute has found that laptop theft and loss accounts for 45% of data breaches.

The FailSafe agent can be installed on an encrypted Hitachi hard drive. In the event of laptop theft, if the FailSafe agent is removed by the perpetrator, the authorized owner will be able to remotely re-install the FailSafe agent in the compromised system and take further steps to ensure integrity of the data on the laptop.

“Increasingly, ” said Masaru Masuda, director of product planning, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, “leading notebook PC manufacturers depend on Hitachi to gain a competitive advantage through our hard drives, which include 128-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) technology to protect consumers’ valuable and sensitive information. Now, all of our 2007 and 2008 models of 2.5-inch mobile hard drives can be enabled at the factory to utilize powerful AES-128 encryption engine, which is part of the drive electronics SOC (System-on-Chip).

“In addition to providing data protection by on the fly data encryption, simple deletion of the 128-bit encryption key enables cryptographically secure erase of the drive. By incorporating Phoenix FailSafe technology with our mobile hard drives, OEMs can deliver advanced security to prevent data loss and theft. The ability to remotely and securely erase or disable disk drives on mobile PCs offers the next-generation protection our customers need to stand apart from competitors.”

“While laptops and notebooks continue to grow in popularity, there is a clear need to provide advanced protection to secure the sensitive files and data stored on them,” said Surendra Arora, VP of business development at Phoenix Technologies. “By partnering with laptop drive manufacturers such as Hitachi, we can help prevent data theft and associated crimes like identity theft by extending FailSafe protection to laptops which contain sensitive personal and professional information.”

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— C.G. Masi, senior editor
Control Engineering News Desk
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